In the television field, electronic systems often use a plurality of circuit modules each of which performs a particular function, which modules are connected together to form a system. Since the function performed by a particular module is often a standardized function, used throughout the television industry, many manufacturers of television equipment sell "standard" modules for performing these standard functions.
From the standpoint of appearance, shielding from electromagnetic interference and physical protection, the circuit modules connected together to form a system must be enclosed in a metal box. However, this presents a problem because the arrangement and grouping of the modules for each customer is different.
One prior art approach is to manufacture a sheet metal box designed specifically for each customer configuration and permanently wire the modules together to provide power, ground and data signal paths. This approach involves substantial cost because a large number of different box configurations must be kept in stock to accomodate various customer configurations.
Another prior art approach to this problem has been to use a mainframe/plug-in approach. In this approach, a mainframe, backplane or "motherboard" is manufactured in a standard box or cabinet with a plurality of receptacles or "slots" each of which can accept various circuit modules. The motherboard provides each module with power, ground, signal input and signal output leads and can be customized for each customer by inserting different sets of modules. There are several problems with this approach. One problem is that the motherboard and its cabinet must contain room for several circuit modules in order to allow for system expansion so that the unit can be used for many customers. A customer who needs only a few circuit modules must still purchase the entire motherboard assembly thus incurring an increased costs and wasting valuable space.
Another problem with the motherboard approach is that each of the circuit modules must have a connector configuration which is fixed in order to match the connector configuration on the motherboard so that the module can be plugged into a particular slot. The fixed connector configuration often constrains the design of the module circuitry. In addition, the motherboard approach often requires that there be two sets of connectors--one between the circuit module and the motherboard and another connector set between the motherboard and external circuitry. The duplicate set of connectors increase cost and inject additional noise and signal problems into the system.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electronic circuit chassis which can house electronic circuit modules in various configurations without requiring a box of any type.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic circuit chassis which can house electronic circuit modules in various configurations without requiring a back-plane unit or motherboard to provide distribution of power and data signals.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an electronic circuit chassis which uses a standard array of mechanical pieces which can be readily stocked and assembled to provide systems with various groupings and configurations.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an electronic circuit chassis which can be quickly and readily assembled from the standard parts without requiring special tools or machinery.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an electronic circuit chassis which when assembled has a neat and finished appearance.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an electronic circuit package which does not require the use of motherboards, mainframes or backplanes to provide power, ground and signal connections to the circuit modules.